Chimney Cap Repair

Problems Caused by Improper or Damaged Chimney Caps

• Water entering your home can cause damage to any wood, drywall, carpeting or electrical that it comes in contact with. It can also contribute to the growth of dangerous molds.
• Certain wind conditions can cause a downdraft that can fill your house with smoke and leave soot on your walls and ceilings.
• Animals, insects and reptiles such as squirrels, opossums, attic rats, mosquitoes, roaches and termites to name a few, can enter your home any time they choose.
• You may experience increased heating and cooling bills due to exposure to outside elements.
• Your fireplace may be a Fire Hazard to your home and to your neighbor's homes due to sparks exiting through a damaged, missing or improperly installed spark arrestor. Many builders do not install a proper spark arrestor when they build a new home.

Note: You should also make sure that your Firebox is safe and in good working order. If you use your fireplace you should inspect the inside of the firebox on a regular basis to make sure that it is in good working order. See our Firebox Repair page.

Our Repair Process

We begin by installing a 1/4 inch mesh metal screen at the opening of your chimney. This prevents any embers larger than the size of the openings from escaping your chimney as well as animals and insects from entering.

Next we install a section of flue tile directly on top of the screen. This is a square orange clay tube that is designed to route the smoke and sparks out of your fireplace.

Next we mount a new spark arrester to the top of the flue. The spark arrester is a black metal cap or cage.

It is solid at the top with additional screens along the sides. The solid top prevents rain from entering the flue and also acts as a second defense against sparks getting out.

The additional screens around the spark arrestor also acts as a second barrier against animals and insects.

Our final step is to install the mortar cap. The mortar cap seals the area between the flue and the outer edges of the brick. It is thicker and higher around the flue tile and gradually slopes downward to the outer edges of your chimney. This slope is important because it deflects water downward and away from the top of the chimney.

Your New Chimney Cap is Ready

Now any rain that strikes the top of the spark arrester cap is deflected downward to the mortar cap which in turn deflects it over the edges of the chimney eliminating any possibility of it entering your house.

There is now no need to worry about downdrafts as the wind condition that causes them is stopped by the solid top of the spark arrestor.

You can also stop worrying about setting your roof or your neighbor's roof on fire because your spark arrestor will eliminating that risk.